SKKK4163, Safety & Health in Chemical Industry

n  When you gamble with safety, you bet

your life
»  Source: A road safety
advertisement at Puduraya

by

Mohammad Fadil Abdul Wahab, PhD

Department of Energy Engineering
School of Chemical and Energy Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Jan 2019 2

“MALACCA, Nov 8, 2008 – A man was killed while two “Azizan added that initial investigations have pointed to
others were injured when the gas tank in his van exploded a gas leak from the centralised gas system as the likely
while it was being filled with NGV (Natural Gas for Vehicles) cause of the explosion”…. Explosion at Maju Junction Mall Nov 2011
at a petrol station in Batu Berendam here at 7.50pm yesterday”
Source: The Malaysian Insider
Source: The Malaysian Insider
3 4
 n  “Ting and her husband, 69, had just
returned to their home in Ulu Sg Merah
when the explosion occurred around
8pm on Sunday after she turned on a
cooking stove”
n  “PETALING JAYA: A big explosion suspected to have been
n  Source: Borneo Post, March 20, 2012
caused by a gas leak at the 17th floor of a Jalan Ampang
condominium left a Briton severely burnt in his hands and legs and
the unit in flames”……Source: The Star, May 9 2011
5 6

“The Humberto Vidal Explosion was a gas

explosion that occurred on November 21,
1996 at the Humberto Vidal shoe store
located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The
explosion killed 33 and wounded more than
80 others when the building collapsed. It is
considered one of the deadliest disasters to
have occurred on the island”

Source: Wikipedia
“MEXICO CITY -- At least 26 oil workers were
killed Tuesday and several dozen injured in a huge
explosion and fire along a natural gas pipeline in
northeastern Mexico, officials said.”

7
Source: Los Angeles Times, Sept 18, 2012 8
“A gas line explosion rocked the town of Sissonville, West
Virginia., Tuesday, setting off an inferno that burned multiple
homes, damaged and closed a portion of the freeway, and
knocked out power and phone lines to some residents — but Jan 30th, 2007 West Virginia USA. 2 propane technician
remarkably, took no lives” Source: NBC News US, 1 Dec and 2 emergency responders died. Seriously injured 1
2012 Volunteer firefighter and 4 convenient store employees.
9 10

What is the most common accident in industry?

n  Fortunately no one

Fire and explosion of propylene cylinders at compressed

gas filling and distribution facilities. Fortunately,
no death or injury….. 11 What is the most common injury? 12
 Consequence of Accidents….
n  Fatality (lost of lives), injuries, damages to
plant,
equipment & environment
n  Loss production
n  Increased costs
n  Insurance,medical, rehabilitation, clean-up, training
and retraining
n  Lowering of workplace morale
n  Substantial loss of market share
14
n  Loss of Profitability

Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE)

n  “Safety” used to mean:

Strategy of accident prevention through the use of safety

helmet, safety shoes and a variety of rules and
regulations

– the emphasis was on workers safety

- Obeying safety rules and follow Standard
Operationg Procedure (SOP)
- Wearing Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE)

15 16
n  Nowadays, “safety” is used synonymously with “loss
prevention”: Term Definition

Accident Undesired event giving rise to death,

The prevention of accidents through injury, ill health, damage or other loss
-Identification of hazards and eliminate them before
an accident occurs. i.e. proactive, awareness &
action….
Incident Event that gave rise to an accident or had potential
-The use of appropriate technologies such as to lead to an accident (not all incidents propagate into accidents)
detectors, fire resistance materials etc.
Near-miss is an incident where no injury, damage, ill health,
n  Safety also means freedom from unacceptable risk of harm or other loss occurs.
[see ISO/IEC Guide]
17 18

Term Definition
Hazard Conditions (source/situation: chemical or physical) and acts
(behaviors) with a potential to cause harm, injury or damage to
either human, property or the environment or some combination
of these.
Hence, hazard is associated with unsafe conditions and unsafe acts that,
if left uncontrolled, can result in an accident that lead to injury or illness.
Safety vs Health
Mechanical hazards :
- wet floor could cause tripping,
- moving equipment that could cause collision,
- rotating equipment, etc.
Chemical hazards:
- chemical storage,
- toxic fumes from usage of hazardous chemical,
- fuel leakage (cause fire & explosion) etc.
Acts:
- Shot cut, Operating at improper speed,
19 Note: HSE, HSSE 20
20
 •  Occupational Health is concerned with disease-causing
•  Occupational Safety is concerned with injury-related conditions or adverse reactions to prolonged exposure to
situations or hazard to humans that results from sudden dangerous, but less intense, hazards.
severe conditions.

– The protection of the bodies and minds of people/

– The protection of workers/people from physical injury
- cut, fracture, sprain, burn, amputation,
asphyxiation etc.
workers from illness
-  Occupational illness includes acute and chronic
illnesses or diseases that may be caused by inhalation,
skin absorption and ingestion.

-  Stress is also a health issue.

21 22
21 22

Types of Risk in Industry:

-Hazard Risks
Safety (Accident), Worker’s Compensation,
Legal/Regulation, Property, Delay in Start-up, Political

- Business Risks
Economic/Financial, Credit, Political, Legal/Regulation,
Competition

- Fuel Risks
Availability, Price, Fuel Specification

-  Plant Performance Risk ( or Operational Risks)

Output, Efficiency, Availability, Degradation,
Outages, Human Resource, Technology
23 24
Definition of SAFETY (ACCIDENT) RELATED RISK:
How to Manage Risks:
Term Definition

Risk Combination of : -Eliminate the hazard

The likelihood (probability) of a specified -Reduce

hazardous event (e.g. accident) occurring
and -Transfer
its consequences.
-Absorb

Risk The process of estimating the magnitude of risk and deciding

Assessment whether or not the risk is tolerable for the benefit gain.

25 26

Continue Reducing Plant Performance Risk:

Reducing Plant Performance Risk:
3. Operation
1.  Technology
-Follow manufacturer’s recommendation
-Selection of OEM (proven technology) - Good SOP and monitoring
-Support for O&M -Do not compromise on safety
-Selection of EPC contractor (proven track records -Proper documentation and readily available
with in house engineering capability) -Interchangeability of operation and maintenance staff
-Training, Training, Training
2.  Management

-Good organization structure 4. Maintenance

-Certification of safety standard
-Good/early recruitment -Follow manufacturer’s recommendation
-Proper documentation and readily available -Follow maintenance schedule religiously
-Training, Training, Training -Long term service & part agreement with OEM
-Do not compromise on safety
-Proper documentation and readily available
27
-Training, Training, Training 28
S.A.A.A.F.E.T.Y Program to Minimized the RISK •  To ensure safe design, installation, commission, and
operation throughout the life of a related facilities.
A successful safety program needs,
-technological advances using better design/
• System control
• Organization, Management, OSHMS, SHC, SHO, Policy, Rules and
Regulations, SOP, Standard etc. - proper maintenance
- training etc.
• Attitude, Awareness and Action (AAA)
• Good safety culture
•  To identify all potential hazards or incident scenarios
• Fundamentals
- hazard identification methods such as HAZOP study
• Technical knowledge to design/select, construct, operate, maintain etc.
•  To minimize all risks using loss prevention techniques
• Experience
• Learn from past accidents and experience of others such as:
- Inherent safety concept in design
• Time
• To set up system, do hazard identification, do risk assessment, do - Layers of protection
documentation, do safety review, training, etc. - Redundancy, segregation and diversification of
safety systems.
• You 29 30

• Everyone (workers and management) should participate/contribute

Fundamental canons (for engineers)

AICHE’s Code of Professional Ethics •  Shall hold paramount safety, health and welfare of public in
performance of their professional duties.
•  Shall perform services only in areas of their competence.
Fundamental principles •  Shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner.
•  Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor •  Shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as
faithful agents or trustees, shall avoid conflicts of interest.
and dignity of engineering profession by :
•  Shall build their professional reputations on merits of their
1- using knowledge & skill for enhancement of services.
human welfare. •  Shall act in such manner as to uphold and enhance the honor,
integrity and dignity of engineering profession.
2- honest and impartial and serving with fidelity to
•  Shall continue their professional development throughout their
public, employers, clients.
careers and shall provide opportunities for professional
3- striving to increase competence and prestige of development of those engineers under their supervision.
engineering profession.
31 32
 •  Accident and loss statistics are used to measure the The term OSHA in OSHA Incidence Rate refers to,
effectiveness of safety programs and compare the
safety performance with others.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, USA
•  Among statistical methods used to characterize ….i.e. similar to Department of Occupational Safety and
accident and loss performance : Health (DOSH) in Malaysia
1.  OSHA Incidence Rate
2.  Fatal Accident Rate (FAR)
In Malaysia, the term OSHA 1994 stands for Occupational
3.  Fatality rate or deaths per person per year
Health and Safety Act 1994.

•  These methods report number of accidents and/or

fatalities for fixed number of workers during specified
period.
33 34

1. OSHA Incidence Rate (OSHA IR)

Number of injuries/illness/fatalities x 200000
OSHA IR(1) =
Total hrs work by all employees during period covered
•  Based on cases per 100 worker years.
A worker year is: Number of lost workdays x 200000
OSHA IR(2) =
50 work weeks 40 hrs Total hrs work by all employees during period covered
1 worker year = = 2000 hrs
yr week

Example 1,
So, 100 worker years = 100x2000 = 200,000 hrs worker exposure to hazard

We could also say OSHA IR as a number of injury per 200000 working A gas construction company with 100 workers recorded 10 injuries in
hours or exposed hours one year (note: the answer is trivial). Note, here ‘period covered’ is 1
year.
•  Two types of calculation 10x200000
OSHA IR(1)= = 10
OSHA IR(1) : Based on injuries and illness (including fatalities) 100x2000
OSHA IR(2) : Based on lost workdays

•  Lost workdays- Days which employee normally work but could We could say OSHA IR as a number of injury
not because of occupational injury or illness. This day does not per 200000 working hours or exposed hours
include the day of injury. 35 36
Example 2: Example 2,

A gas company with 50 workers recorded 10 injuries in one year. A gas company with 50 workers recorded 12 injuries in 3 year.

10x200000
OSHA IR(1)= = 20 OSHA IR(1)=
12x200000
=8
50x2000 50x2000x3

Exercise:

Calculate OSHA Incident Rate for a gas company with 10 workers

recorded 10 injuries in one year?

Calculate OSHA Incident Rate for a gas company with 50 workers

recorded 10 injuries in 6 months?

37 38

For example:
2. Fatal Accident Rates (FAR)
FAR for construction industry is 5.4 for year 2007,

•  FAR is used by British chemical industries. FAR data is widely

This means that if 1000 workers begin employment in the
available in open literature.
industry, 5.4 of the workers will die as a result of their
•  Based on number of deaths per 1000 employees working for 50 years employment throughout all of their working lifetimes (i.e. 50
during their lifetime. years).
Check:
1000 x 50 yr x 2000hr/yr = 100,000,000 or 108 working hrs 5.4x108 5.4x108
FAR= = = 5.4 fatalities
Number of fatalities x 10 8 1000x50x2000 108
FAR =
Total working hrs by all employees during period covered
or we could say that for every 50000 workers in the construction
We could say FAR as no of deaths per 108 working hrs or industry in year 2007, 5.4 of them died in work related accident.

108 exposed hrs.

Check: Dx108
FAR = 5.4 =
50000x2000
(note: 1000 employees working for 50 years is equal to 50,000 worker years
39 D = 5.4 fatalities 40
So: FAR: 50,000 worker years (108 exposed hrs) D: Deaths or fatalities
OSHA IR: 100 worker years (200000 exposed hrs)
 But be careful with statistic…..
For example:
Statistic says: Traveling by car, FAR=57,
Rock climbing, FAR = 4000. A rock climbing club has 1000 members working in chemical
industry, on average each member spend 3 hrs/day driving and
1 hr/month climbing. In 10 years how many member will die due
to rock climbing (FAR=4000), road accident (FAR=57) and
But more rock climbers are killed traveling by car than are killed occupational accident (FAR=1.2).
during rock climbing. Why?
D x 108
FAR=
Statistics say rock climbing produces more fatalities per exposed Total working hrs by all employees during period covered
hrs. …………BUT the climbers are actually spend more time
(exposed hrs) traveling by car.
in this case,
We need more data (i.e. exposed hrs) to actually calculate the
number of fatalities. D x 108
FAR=
Total exposed hrs by all members during 10 year period

41 42

Answer:
ROAD ACCIDENT
D x 108
FAR =
Total exposed hrs by all members during 10 year period FAR
D= x(Total hrs on the road by all member in 10 years)
108
FARxTotal exposed hrs by all members during 10 year period 57
D= D= x(1000x3x365x10) = 6.2 deaths
108 108

OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT
ROCK CLIMBING
FAR
FAR D= x(Total hrs working by all member in 10 years)
D= x(Total hrs climbing by all member in 10 years) 108
108 1.2
4000 D= x(1000x2000x10) = 0.24 deaths
D= x(1000x1x12x10) = 4.8 deaths 108
108

43 44
Example:

A plant employs 1500 full-time workers in a process with

FAR of 5. How many industrial related deaths are expected
each year?
D x 108
FAR =
Total working hrs by all employees during period covered

FAR
D= x(Total hrs for 1500 worker for one year)
108

5deaths
D= x(1500x2000hrs/year) = 0.15 deaths/year
108hr

Show that there will be 1 death every 6 to 7 years? 45 46

3. FATALITY RATE Example:

- Normally use if the number of working hrs or exposed
hours is poorly defined. A process has a reported FAR of 2. If an employee works 8-hr shift, 300
Number of fatalities per year days per year, compute the deaths per person per year (or Fatality Rate).
Fatality Rate =
Total number of people in applicable population
FAR
Fatality Rate = ( Exposed hr/person/year ) x
- Unit: deaths/person.year 10 8 hr

= 4.8x10 −5
FAR can be converted to Fatality Rate (or vice versa) if number of exposed 8hr 300day 2deaths deaths
Fatality Rate = ( )
hours/person/year is known using: day.person yr 10 8 hr person.year
FAR
Fatality Rate = ( Exposed hrs/person/year ) x
108 hrs
Note: If we know number of person (population) and number of year
If, assuming normal working hours: operation, we can calculate number of death from fatality rate.

FAR FAR OSHA incidence rate cannot be converted to FAR or Fatality Rate because
Fatality Rate = ( 2000 ) x = 47 48
108 50000 it contains both injury & fatality information.
 Example:
Example: A worker is told that her chances of being killed by
a particular process is 1 in every 500 years.
An employee works in a construction industry with a FAR of 4. If this
employee works a 4-hr shift, 200 days per year, what is the expected deaths What is the fatality rate?
per person per year? What is FAR (assuming normal working hours)?
= 2x10 −3 deaths person.year
1deaths
Fatality Rate =
1person.500year
4hr 200day 4deaths
Fatality Rate =
day. person yr 108 hr FAR Fatality Rate
=
10 8 hr Exposed hrs/person/year
= 3.2x10−5 deaths
person.year
2x10 −3 deaths person.year
FAR = 10 8 hr = 100
2000hr
year.person

49 Note: FAR=Fatality Rate x 50000 50

Assignment 1 4. On average, about 42 Americans are killed by lightning each

year. The current population of U.S.A. is about 300 million
1.  In 1891 the copper industry in Michigan employed 7702 people. Which accident index is suitable for this information and
workers. In that year, there were 28 fatalities in the mines 112 calculate the index value?
injury. The workers worked 40-hour weeks and 50 weeks per
year. Calculate OSHA IR and FAR for the industry. 5. Suggest how to get the fatalities rate of Malaysian road
accident?
2. A university has 1200 full-time employees. For the last five
years, this university has had 68 reportable lost-time injuries with a 6. Suggest how (step by step) to get FAR for Malaysian gas
resulting of 374 lost workdays. Which accident index is suitable industry?
for this information and calculate the index values?
7. Search for Malaysian Industrial Accident Statistics and share
3. It was reported that 144 work-related deaths in Great Britain in your finding.
2016. Suggest how to determine fatality rate and FAR? Show your
calculations. Due:
51 52
Statistic from DOSH Website
The Accident Pyramid
1 Death/Disabling injury
100  Minor Injury
500  Property Damage
10,000 No Damage (near misses)
Note: Incident could lead to accident
Risk Acceptance
and
ALARP Concept
53 54
•  Occupational risk is a risk that may happen at the
work place. Usually given in term of FAR.
•  Individual risk (IR) is the frequency at which a given
individual may be expected to sustain a given level of
harm from specified hazard.
•  Societal risk is frequencies with which specified
numbers of people in a given population sustain a
specified level of harm from specified hazards.
55 Both IR and SR are normally given in term of fatality 56
rate.
•  Risk cannot be eliminated entirely. This framework is represented as a three-tier. It consists
of several elements :
•  Every process has a certain amount of risk associated with
it.
•  At some point in the design stage someone needs to decide (1) Intolerable level: Beyond the upper-bound on risk
levels
if the risks are “tolerable".
•  One tolerability criteria in the UK is “As Low As
Reasonably Practicable" (ALARP) concept, formalized in (2) Tolerable (ALARP) region between (1) and (3), risk is
1974 by United Kingdom Health and Safety at Work Act. undertaken only if benefit is desired after considering the
cost on risk reductions.
•  Tolerable risk is also defined as the risk that has been
reduced to a level that can be endured by the organization
having regards to its legal obligations and its own OHS (3) Negligible risk (acceptable region): below the lower-
bound on risk levels. This level not to warrant regulatory
policy
57 concern. 58

Three Type of Plant Accidents

Type of Probability of Potential for Potential for
INTOLERABLE
LEVEL accident occurrence Fatalities economic loss
(Risk cannot be
justified on any (consequence) (consequence)
ground)

TOLERABLE only if risk

reduction is impraticable
or if its cost is grossly
disproportionate to the
improvement gained
1) Fire High Low Intermediate
THE ALARP
REGION
(Risk is undertaken
only if benefit is desired)

2) Explosion Intermediate Intermediate High

TOLERABLE if cost of
reduction would exceed
the improvement gained
3) Toxic release Low High Low (equipment).
BROADLY
ACCEPTABLE
(No need for
detailed working
NEGLIGIBLE RISK Other such as
REGION to demonstrate cleanup, legal etc
ALARP)
can be high
59 What about toxic release + explosion at the same time?? 60
 Figure 1-8 Hardware associated with the largest hydrocarbon-chemical plant accidents. (Data 

Figure 1-7 Causes of losses for largest hydrocarbon-chemical plant accidents. (Data from The 
 from The 100 Largest Losses, 1972–2001.)
100 Largest Losses, 1972–2001.)

Note: Except for natural hazards (?), all of these causes can be traced back to human error.
61 62

Defeating the Accident Process

The Way Forward
Steps Desired effect Procedure (to defeat the accident process)
(Accident process or
sequence of accident))
•  Safety comes first !!!

1. Initiation
(the event that starts the
Diminish
(eliminate this step if
Grounding/bonding
Inerting •  To minimize the risk, two important elements
accident) possible) Guardrails
Maintenance procedure
Human factor design
Process design
–  Human Factor
Explosion proof electrical
Hot work permits
We Need Good Safety Management Practice
e.g. OSHMS, Remember: S.A.F.E.T.Y
2. Propagation Diminish Emergency material transfer
(the events that maintain/ (stop propagation) Reduce inventories of flammable materials
expand the accident) Equipment spacing and layout
Nonflammable construction materials –  Safe Design & Good Maintenance
Emergency & Isolation valves
Installation of check valves
Compliance with latest approved standard
Need to Incorporate Inherently Safe Design
63 and Safe working condition 64

3. Termination Increase Firefighting equipment and procedures

(the events that stop the (to terminate as Relief systems, Flame arrestor
accident) quickly as possible) Sprinkler systems
Deluge system
Installation of check and emergency shutoff valves
 Unsafe Acts
Type of Unsafe Acts,
Let’s first talk about n  1. Direct
n  Errorscarry out by users/operators of equipment / the
Human Factor in Safety one executing the action

namely Unsafe Acts n  2.

n  Unintentional vs Intentional

Indirect
n  Can
be traced back to fallible decisions made by
committee/mgmt etc
n  Management method, recruitment, supervision, engineering,
design etc

Unintentional
Individual’s Direct Unsafe Act Intentional Direct Unsafe Act
Related to the ability/inability to make correct
judgment. This is called errors.
There are 2 types of errors.
n  1. Mistake – error in deciding the type of action
required
n  Lack of knowledge (mismatch), wrong decision
n  2. Slips - an error that occurs as a result of forgetfulness,
fatigue, habit or similar psychological causes.
n  Interruptions, phone calls etc
n  Intentional Unsafe Act is called Violation
n  Violation involve deliberate deviation from procedure
n  Short cut
n  Well-intentioned experiment
n  Sabotage
n  Violation is a behavioral problem
n  Must be addressed by changing attitudes at work place.
n  Need to improve discipline and morale of workers, provide
training etc…
n  Solve and minimize workers’ grievances
 Indirect Unsafe Acts Examples of Unsafe Act
n  Fallible decision made by management,
engineering etc…
n  Organizational failure
n  Maintenance, decision, work environment,
operational procedure, work schedule,
management of change.
n  Poor communication, supervisory method,
improper safety procedures, lack of training,
qualification etc…
Unsafe Condition
q  A hazardous physical condition or
circumstances which could directly permit
the occurrence of an accident.
q  This could also be the result of an unsafe
act by someone.
q  Operating without authority
q  Operating at improper speed
q  Making safety devices inoperable
q  Using defective equipment
q  Using equipment improperly
q  Failure to use PPE
q  Improper loading & placement
q  Servicing equipment in motion
q  Failure to warn or secure
Examples of Unsafe Condition
q  Flammable and explosive substance
q  Hazardous atmospheric condition (exceed
Threshold Limit Value (TLV)?)
q  Inadequate guards or protection of machine
q  Defective tools, equipment
q  Congestion, bad housekeeping
q  Inadequate warning system
q  Excessive noise
q  Inadequate illumination
q  Inadequate ventilation
 Some Facts!
Most of accidents are related to unsafe
acts or behaviors (e.g. shortcut).
Only few accidents are caused by unsafe
conditions (eg. wet floor).
More accidents will occur if we have both
unsafe conditions and unsafe acts.
n  Notall accidents are preventable but
level of risk (probability and severity)
of accidents can be reduced:
n Careful forethoughts
n Planning
n Strict adherence to safe work practices
n Remember S.A.F.E.T.Y
Individuals should not be
blamed for accidents !
n  No responsible person would deliberately do
something to injure themselves or friends!
•  But someone will be held responsible………
Factors that led to significant change
in OSH in recent times
n  Technological changes introduce new hazards in the workplace.
Proliferation of OSH legislation and its enforcement
n 
n  Professionalization of health and safety occupations
n  Awareness among employers on the benefit of a safe and
healthy workplace
n  Growing interest in ethics corporate responsibility
n  Health care and worker’s compensation cost increases
n  Mounting costs associated with product safety and other type of
litigation.
n  More pressure from environmental groups and the public
n  Increase pressure from labor organization and employees in
general
n  Increasing incidents of workplace violence
76
Assignment:

Now that the fundamental definitions of safety and risk

have been reviewed. You are now in the position to report
the importance of safety and risk management in the planning,
design, installation and operation of gas transmission and distribution
facilities. You can either write a full page type-written report
about your views with regards to this or you can search an article
related to this assignment and write a full page type-written of
your critical comments about the article.

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